Hogan-Pancost annexation request heads for public hearing

Boulder council gives initial approval; special meeting set for Oct. 3

Posted:
09/03/2013 11:49:52 PM MDT

Updated:
09/04/2013 12:23:54 AM MDT

The Boulder City Council gave initial approval Tuesday to the annexation of the 22-acre Hogan-Pancost property in southeast Boulder.

The decision was not unexpected and sets the stage for a special meeting on Oct. 3, a Thursday, for a public hearing and second vote on the annexation request.

The city's Planning Board unanimously rejected the controversial project in April after 14 hours of testimony and debate spread over three days.

The plan for the site called for construction of 121 homes near South Boulder Road and 55th Street, including 50 "congregate-care" senior housing units, six affordable duplexes, two affordable single-family homes and 63 market-rate single-family homes.

Developer Michael Boyers has withdrawn the site plan, which was rejected along with the annexation request, from consideration, and the City Council will vote just on the annexation request and initial zoning to low-density residential.

Most annexation requests are accompanied by a site review because officials want to see what the applicant intends to do with the property, including what community benefits annexation might bring.

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After several council members asked that engineers and flood experts be present at the public hearing to answer questions, Councilwoman Suzy Ageton said she hopes that the council meeting focuses more narrowly on the annexation question.

"I don't want to be repeating the same discussion the planning board had when we are not going to be making the same judgment," she said.

Councilman Tim Plass said he is concerned that if the annexation goes through, more developers will request annexation without site review.

City Attorney Tom Carr said the council can still take into consideration the eventual plans for a property. He said that if the council does not want the property to be developed, it should not annex the property.

"I think there is a natural concern about what happens after you annex," Carr said. "It's not being annexed to remain vacant."For decades, neighbors have opposed development of the property, fearing the impact construction might have on the high groundwater table on the site and in surrounding areas, where many homes use sump pumps to keep their basements from flooding. Neighbors also voiced concerns about increased traffic.

The potential impacts on groundwater and the 100- and 500-year South Boulder Creek floodplains played a significant role in the Planning Board's rejection of the proposal.

Jeff McWhirter of the Southeast Boulder Neighborhood Association asked the council to reject the annexation. He said the flooding risk alone was enough to turn down development on the site.

"My daughter drives across a flood zone every day," he said. "My wife does, too. Most of my neighbors do. All of these issues we put so much energy into: Traffic. Who cares that it's going to increase 500 percent on Kewanee? The northern leopard spotted frog, an endangered species, the Preble's meadow jumping mouse, a threatened species. Doesn't matter. Wetlands. Who cares if we destroy them? Every other issue pales in comparison with flooding. Whichever side you're on, whether you're on the side of the developers and want to put skyscrapers on Pearl Street or you're on the side of the environmentalists and want to turn Boulder into a vegan prairie dog colony, you need to exercise your fundamental responsibility and protect us."